But for most of this past week, it looked as though Addae and the rest of his Chippewas teammates along with the coaching staff would be spending Christmas at home in more of a traditional setting.

Especially after Nov. 28 when the NCAA granted Georgia Tech a bowl waiver despite its eventual 6-7 regular season finish. In short things looked very bleak for Central Michigan as far as its bowl hopes were concerned. So bleak that CMU Director of Athletics Dave Heeke filed a different waiver to the NCAA one week ago, one that would have allowed the Chippewas to get their full allotment of 15 days of practice time despite not making a bowl game as a bowl-eligible team.

But it turns out that waiver was not necessary.

Due to some wacky happenings on “Selection Sunday”, Central Michigan (6-6) found itself in a familiar bowl as it received the bid for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit where it will face Western Kentucky (7-5) Dec. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

The most bizarre occurrence Sunday, the one that put the Chippewas into the bowl picture, was a 9-3 Louisiana Tech team declining an Independence Bowl bid because Bulldogs Athletics Director Bruce Van De Velde reportedly held out for a better bowl bid.

That gamble left Louisiana Tech on the outside looking in once Northern Illinois gobbled up a BCS bid in the Orange Bowl and Ohio slid into the Independence Bowl, freeing up one more bowl spot which ultimately went to Central Michigan.

Chippewas head coach Dan Enos expounded upon the wave of emotions that he and his team went through over the last week.

“It looked really bleak there for a while,” said Enos. “We went into the weekend thinking we probably weren’t playing in one. Then (Heeke) contacted me Sunday afternoon (and) said we were back in the hunt and had a legitimate chance. We were trying not to get too excited until we knew.”

Addae was with several teammates when he found out that instead of his collegiate career being over, he had one more game left on the national stage.

“It was an emotional rollercoaster all week,” Addae said. “It was a blessing to know we were in. We’ve worked so hard for this. At one point we were a 2-5 team and Coach Enos made sure we continued to work hard and this is the result.”

Addae was one of many catalysts in helping CMU win four of its last five games to become bowl eligible. He was named Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week on senior day where he had a team-high 10 tackles plus an interception and half a sack in a 30-16 victory over Miami. Then in the finale at Massachusetts, he added eight more tackles and another interception as the Chippewas rolled 42-21 to get their sixth win.

Despite the uncertainty of the bowl situation in the past week-plus, Addae says he did not stop working and continued his usual training regiment along with his teammates.

“We knew we were bowl eligible and the only thing we could control was ourselves, so we continued working out during the week to keep our bodies in shape,” said Addae.

Addae played sparingly in the GMAC Bowl in 2009, only appearing on special teams. This time around he will get the spotlight as one of CMU’s defensive leaders.

Another Chippewa who has bowl experience is senior wide receiver Cody Wilson, who is among the all-time receiving leaders at CMU. He caught four passes for 36 yards in the GMAC Bowl in 2009.

Wilson has caught a pass in 41 consecutive games for Central Michigan, the second-longest streak in the nation. He is third all-time in the CMU record books for career receptions and fifth in career receiving yards.

But Wilson admitted that after the Georgia Tech bowl waiver situation, he was beginning to doubt whether he would have another game to play.

“I was texting back and forth with people about our chances and then when the Georgia Tech news came out, it gave us even less of a chance to be in a bowl,” Wilson said. “It was definitely a rollercoaster and then a pleasant surprise Sunday. We were always expecting and hoping to play another game, but everyone was telling us we weren’t. So it was definitely nice to hear our name called.”

While Addae was with teammates, Wilson was back home with family all weekend and on his way back to Mt. Pleasant when he first heard the news that the Chippewas would be going bowling.

“I was back home with my family having Thanksgiving, since the week before we couldn’t do it because of the football game,” added Wilson. “So I was driving back and I started getting all these texts from teammates telling me we made it. It was pretty cool.”

For Wilson along with Addae and the rest of the senior class, the bowl game will be an opportunity to take the field as a collegiate athlete one last time. But for the players who will be returning for Central Michigan next year, having the extra 15 practice days plus the bowl game is going to be crucial in keeping momentum heading into the 2013 campaign.

Enos was in full support of Heeke’s decision to file the 15-day practice waiver to the NCAA this past week in the event the Chippewas were not making a bowl game.

“He told me he was going to do it and I thought it was a tremendous idea,” said Enos. “Rules sometimes get bent or whatever, but we didn’t want our school to be put at a disadvantage. We knew there were bowls that wanted us. We have potential high NFL Draft choices on this team and some very good players just as Jahleel and Cody.”

With the game the day after Christmas, it certainly does alter schedules but Enos says he wouldn’t want it any other day.

“Ever since I was at Michigan State, I’ve learned that it’s always good to be playing football around the holidays,” he said.

While Addae said his family has their Christmas plans set for Detroit on the 26th, Enos joked that his kids have a very strict idea of when everything will be celebrated.

“For the kids they need to have Christmas on the 25th, but for us to have a game the next day it is a very positive thing,” added Enos.